UK condemns Khashoggi killing and pledges considered response
THE UK has condemned the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and promised a “thoughtful and considered” response to the “appalling brutality”.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Saudi Arabia’s official claim that Mr Khashoggi died in a fight at the Gulf kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul was “not credible”.
Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the killing “in the strongest possible terms” and added “we must get to the truth of what happened”.
Labour stepped up calls for a boycott on arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to the “horrific murder”.
Mr Hunt acknowledged that the UK had close security and business links with Saudi Arabia but “if the appalling stories we are reading turn out to be true” the UK “will act accordingly”.
He told MPs: “We have an important strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia involving defence and security co-operation which has saved lives on the streets of Britain. We also have a trading partnership that supports thousands of jobs.
“So whilst we will be thoughtful and considered in our response, I have also been clear that if the appalling stories we are reading turn out to be true, they are fundamentally incompatible with our values and we will act accordingly.
“Indeed such reports are also incompatible with Saudi Arabia’s own stated goal of progress and renewal.
“That is why the extent to which Saudi Arabia is able to convince us that it remains committed to that progress will ultimately determine the response of the UK and its allies.”
Saudi Arabia admitted on Friday that Washington Post columnist Mr Khashoggi, a vocal critic of Riyadh, was killed at its Istanbul mission. Mr Hunt said the Turkish-led investigation needed to establish who authorised the dispatch of 15 officials from Saudi Arabia to Istanbul and when the Riyadh government first learned of Mr Khashoggi’s death.